Story & Photos by Dave & Jan Houser
In Northern Mongolia, dawn shivers crisply, even in July.
Yet, nine of us - all veteran travelers boarding two Russian-made, four-wheel-drive UAZ vans - are hot to launch a 17-day adventure with Pacific Delight World Tours. We are prepared for a jarring four-hour drive to motor 80 miles from the rustic frontier town of Muren (also known as Moron) to Lake Hovsgol, a mountain gem geologically related to neighboring Siberia's renowned Lake Baikal.
The Cold War-era, military off-road UAZ resembles a 1960s Volkswagen van on steroids, ugly and awkward-looking, but reportedly ruggedly reliable and simply maintained. Its reliability concerns us now as one vehicle sputters to a stop just a few kilometers along the rough, unsigned track, the only route into Lake Hovsgol.
Our guide, Darkhad Navaan Baatar (just Baatar to us), and the two drivers remove the engine cover, find a broken throttle linkage and start repair. Ah, well, we could be on horseback and need a veterinary surgeon.
The impromptu stop finds us ringed by a vast grassy meadow, typifying Central Asia's great steppe, garlanded with wildflowers -- gentian, larkspur, edelweiss -- and pleasantly redolent of sage and wild thyme. A horseman gallops past to rein in a large herd of goats spooked by our presence.
Far to the north, the Erchimiin mountain range soars from a forest of Siberian larch. Early sunlight bathes treeless summits in soft shades of gold and crimson. It is a majestic morning that sets us abuzz with enthusiasm.
Mongolia - exotic Outer Mongolia - indeed ranks among the world's final frontiers for real adventure travel. Now known as the Republic of Mongolia and not at all part of Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China, it encompasses nearly four times the area of France and twice that of Texas. Its extraordinary geography boasts rugged mountains up to 14,000 feet high, rolling steppes, and the Gobi Desert, home to the world's northernmost sand dunes.
Remote and mysterious, this country bore history's greatest conqueror: Genghis Khan. Born in 1162, the charismatic Khan rose from obscurity to unite fierce Mongol tribes. After reining in the Tartars in 1202 and being proclaimed the Great Khan of All Mongols, he campaigned against neighboring states to become one of the most brutal and brilliant military strategists ever.
By the end of the 13th century, his Mongol empire, history's largest, stretched from China, Korea and Vietnam to Central Europe and from Russia to Persia, including present-day Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Failed attempts to take Indonesia and Japan, defeats by rebellious Russians and Chinese in 1380, ongoing internal conflict and tribal disunity during the 15th and 16th centuries, led to the empire's breakup. China's Manchu Qing dynasty prevailed from the late 1600s until the 1911 formation of the Republic of China.
Briefly independent as a Buddhist theocracy, Outer Mongolia fell under Russian influence in the 1920s to become the Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) and the world's second Communist country.
The 1990 collapse of the Soviet Union initially traumatized the country, which has since shifted politically toward democracy and economically to free-market capitalism. Social services and physical infrastructure decayed.
Mongols, however, are industrious people with strong national pride and they have responded vigorously. Mongolia's substantial mineral wealth, including vast deposits of copper and gold, and rapidly developing tourism are effectively propelling essential national transitions. Now, 75 percent of the economy is in the private sector, and robust international aid reflects confidence in the nation's future.
Confident ourselves after quick repairs to our UAZ, we continue jostling toward Lake Hovsgol. The rough ride is cushioned by the stunning beauty of the landscape, its undulating carpet of green studded by outcroppings of rock and grazed by herds of horses, yaks, goats and sheep. Fat marmots dive for their dens as we bounce past, and flocks of cranes on long, delicate legs ballet the steppe. At Erkhel Nuur, a glistening salt lake, we watch various waterfowl and lovely white swans take flight. Atop a high ridge overlooking the serpentine Egiin River, sole outflow of Lake Hovsgol, we enter Khovsgol Nuur (Hovsgol Lake) National Park. This vast reserve of more than two million acres was established in 1992, to protect the lake, the world's fourteenth largest fresh water source, representing two percent of Earth's total. Passing the village of Khatgal, we ascend mountains and criss-cross rocky creek beds to Dalai Tur Ger Camp.
Our home for the next three days, the camp rests just 150 feet from lakeside. The quiet, cool, comfortable retreat entices us to unwind from rigorously long flights and that bone-jarring scenic drive. Besides 14 gers (Mongolian for yurt) and a dining room are a communal shower house, sauna and toilets.
The ger (pronounced "gair") immediately fascinates us. This traditional nomad's tent, squat and circular, incorporates a door in its wood, trellis-like framework that links with roof poles. Canvas covers and waterproofs the wool felt that drapes the structure.
While normally highly portable, gers for tourists anchor to wooden platforms. Ours contains a small, wood-burning stove (much needed during evenings here), two thinly padded beds, a storage chest, table and chairs. From 8 to 11 nightly, a generator powers an electric light. Some ger camps are beginning to utilize solar and wind power. Mornings and evenings, a large stove in the shower house burns wood to heat both sauna and showers.
The Dalai camp is a family operation, its platoon of smiling youngsters invariably eager to provide for our every need. We daily enjoy three meals of surprising quality and variety - far better, in fact, than guidebooks led us to believe.
Three-course dinners, for example, lead with slaw-like salads of shredded cabbage, carrot, cucumber, plus various canned veggies. Entrees include roast lamb, grilled, fresh-caught grayling and a tasty beef stroganoff. Desserts are usually custards or homemade yogurt topped with berries. Bar drinks are available, including popular spirits and local or imported beers.
Nevertheless, a ger camp stay is essentially camping out, sans many conveniences we take for granted. But we came clearly knowing that. We eagerly experience a uniquely simple, centuries old lifestyle and we love every minute of it -- yes, even shivering beneath woolen blankets as a young ger attendant deftly, ceremoniously fires up our stove at 5 a.m.
We spend our days hiking and horseback riding along the lakeshore as others hire a boat nearby or try their luck fishing the lake's bounty of perch, grayling and sturgeon. The less sensible go yak riding or swimming in the crystal clear but frigid waters of Lake Hovsgol.
Our peak experience is visiting a family of Tsaatan, "Reindeer People," similar to Nordic Lapps and living mostly deep in northern forests. We meet as they graze their herd on the grassy lakeshore and sell handmade woolens and carved reindeer horn and bone. While shy and primitive, they warmly welcome us into their teepee-style tent as reindeer milk is boiled for yogurt and cheese, two staples of the Tsaatan diet. Otherwise encountering any of Mongolia's few hundred Tsaatan requires an arduous, week-long horse trek, so ours is a rather rare cultural exchange.
Visiting Mongolia's capital and largest city, Ulaan Baatar (also seen as Ulaanbaatar or Ulan Bator - or just UB among visitors) coincided with July's annual Naadam Festival. The year's biggest event for locals and visitors alike, features three traditional sports: wrestling, archery and horseracing. Something of a nomad Olympics, it also is part fair, part family reunion.
Celebrating the "800th Anniversary of the Great Mongolian State," the 2006 event promises more grandeur and color than usual, and we can sense the excitement as we check into the four-star Ulaanbaatar Hotel, its lobby buzzing with foreign tourists and government dignitaries.
Naadam opens with a noisy, riotously colorful ceremony outside the State Parliament at Sukhbaatar Square near our hotel at 9 a.m. A brightly uniformed, military band stirs spirited march music. Hundreds of men outfitted like Genghis warriors parade the square then swarm away toward the National Stadium.
The bowl-shaped stadium, overflows with more than 40,000 spectators. Among them: Russia's prime minister, Asian heads of state, and England's Prince Edward. More than 5,000 costumed Mongolians include athletes, soldiers, monks and musicians, plus authentically attired marching ensembles representing Mongolia's 20 ethnic groups. What a spectacularly colorful display of traditional dress!
When locals stand and begin singing, we sense that we, too, should rise with respect. An English-speaking Mongol seated nearby explains this is a new version of the national anthem, replacing references to communism with allusions to Mongolian nationalism. Our neighbor also translates a large banner essentially proclaiming Genghis Khan the "Forefather of Globalization." It is a clever take on the Khan's exploits.
Today's stand-in for Genghis Khan wheels the stadium aboard a giant cart fitted with an appropriately oversized ger. Later, on horseback, he leads a horde of fierce- looking warriors -- truly wonderful theatre. However, we foreigners find ensuing wrestling matches on the stadium infield somewhat anticlimactic -- too distant and difficult to follow.
More than 1,000 giant-size grapplers wrestle three grueling days of elimination matches in what Mongols view as the equivalent of the World Cup. Days later, via television, we see the final matches and learn why Mongolians achieve such success in Olympic wrestling and on Japan's Sumo circuit.
An archery competition round isn't all that stirring, although surprising, as women compete along with the men in this event. The real fun, however, is watching judges, scoring shots with vigorous gesturing and shouting, while standing alarmingly close to the targets.
Horseracing events take place on a vast steppe near UB and they are cross-country romps rather than track racing we're used to seeing. The event Baatar has taken us to see features young boys aged five to 13. We hang around the finish line for several hours waiting for riders - several hundred of them - to saunter off across the steppe to take up positions for the start of the 12-mile race. Standing around for another hour, we are finally rewarded with a burst of excitement as the leading pack of riders flash across the finish line. For most of us it has been too long a wait for too little action but the Mongols go crazy over this event. Locals shout "goog!" at the riders, which we figure means "go!" and songs and poems are performed for winners. Victors are toasted with a brew of fermented mare's milk, called airag, which is liberally poured over the heads of boys and horses alike. Surely these folk share the genes of the great Genghis Khan.
The Naadam fest is definitely linked to the legendary leader, originating as training exercises for troops preparing to go off to war.
Whether or not you come for Naadam, you'll invariably spend some time in Ulaan Baatar. Mongolia's capital sprawls across a wide, mountain-flanked valley and straddles the River Tuul. While attractively set, the metropolis itself is a mix of drab Soviet-era highrises and newer glass and steel creations that combine in a sort of eclectic jumble. Not charming, but functional, UB is the place for arranging services, medical care, phoning (our new Mobal World Phone worked flawlessly), emailing, and for shopping, dining, museums and entertainment.
The worthwhile National Museum of Mongolian History features an outstanding collection of ethnic costumes, hats and jewelry, plus an excellent exhibit tracing the development of the Mongol empire. The Museum of Natural History yields background on the famous Gobi dinosaur digs. The Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts is the country's leading repository of paintings, carvings and sculptures, including many by its revered 17th century Buddhist sculptor-artist namesake.
Buddhism, Mongolia's predominant religion, is rebounding after decades of Communist suppression. Glimpse Buddhist life at Gandantegchilen Monastery, highlighted by Megjid Janraisag Temple's 20-ton, gold-plated Buddha statue, as resident monks conduct a moving prayer ceremony daily at 10 a.m.
Choijin Lama Monastery was built near city center for the brother of Mongolia's Living Buddha, Bogd Khaan, in 1908. While needing restoration, it exemplifies the period's classic and quite lovely monastic complex. A rare survivor of Communist demolition and now a museum, it displays a fine collection of Buddhist relics, paintings and ritual tsam masks and costumes.
Traditional music and dance, vital to Mongolia's soul, are regularly performed at UB venues and nationwide. An emotional grasp of Mongolia's cultural spirit requires taking in one or more of such cultural shows as the Tumen Ekh Song and Dance Ensemble or the Mongolian National Song and Dance Academic Ensemble. Both perform nightly during the Naadam. Features include khoomi, Mongolia's unique throat-singing, plus orchestral renditions showcasing morin khuur, the nation's distinctive two-string horse-head fiddles, and varied traditional and modern dances, with lithe young contortionists twisting themselves into human pretzels before your incredulous eyes.
For nightlife more conventional to Westerners, ask your guide or hotel concierge for the latest reasonably up-to-date discos and clubs.
Perhaps the city's most delightful surprise is its range of good restaurants, all moderately priced by world standards. Enjoy an excellent choice of Tandoori and other Indian dishes at Hazara, or go for a thick, juicy steak at El Toro. Silk Road has good ribs, chicken and pasta - plus a shaded verandah for a nice view of Choijin Lama Monastery. The Seoul Restaurant, near the stadium, serves a Korean buffet popular among visitors and locals alike.
Traditional souvenirs aside, Mongolia's best shopping is mainly renowned for cashmere products. Cashmere House offers a wide selection of top quality sweaters, gloves and rugs at surprisingly low prices. A must for visitors is the mega-sized, multi-level State Department Store. A reminder of Soviet influence, it's a tourist attraction in itself, peddling everything from oh-wow-look! to hey-what's-that? Visit the third and fourth floors for superb selections of souvenirs, including art, handicrafts and authentic traditional clothing. Shop here and be the first in your neighborhood to dress up like Genghis Khan or his favorite bride Borte.
Savoring our Naadam and UB memories, we're bound once again for the outer reaches of Mongolia, peering down on a barren patch of Gobi Desert from the windows of an Aero Mongolia Fokker 50 turboprop. Our scheduled morning flight has finally departed UB in mid-afternoon thanks to a rare rainstorm that saturated the dirt landing strip at Juulchin, which is little more than a colony of ger camps. As the day's first Gobi flight, ours gets to test the strip's stability. Some of us are a bit nervous on the approach as it has begun to rain again. We sigh with relief at a bumpy but apparently normal touchdown Ð only to be overcome seconds later by a funny sort of sinking feeling. Yes, our little Fokker is bogged down, wheel-deep in mud a half-mile from the terminal! It is more than obvious to us now that just getting there is part of the adventure involved in touring Mongolia.
We slog the soggy taxiway as four-wheel-drive trucks churn the mire to collect luggage and some reticent passengers. Aboard another pair of UAZ vans we are soon churning along a muddy track, bound for Three Camel Lodge, some 20 miles to the west.
After four drought-desiccated years, Gobi dwellers happily welcome the same rain that dampens our prospects of visiting various intended exploration sites. We hang such worries out to dry, figuratively speaking, as we check out our unexpectedly luxurious accommodations. Three Camel Lodge is a five-star camp in every sense of the term. At the base of a stony bluff, its 40-odd gers radiate from two striking stone lodge buildings housing a restaurant with a sparkling display kitchen, shower and toilet facilities, the Thirsty Camel bar and a large, video and sound-equipped entertainment room. Most impressive of all: Three Camel Lodge serves as a national model of eco-efficiency. Wind and solar power supply all energy needs for a complex local artisans crafted of local materials. Strictly adhering to canons of Mongolian Buddhist architecture, none uses a single nail.
Three Camels, we learn, is the pet project of Nomadic Expeditions, the UB-based tour company serving as Pacific Delight's ground operator in Mongolia. Baatar, our own energetic, 30-something guide, is also not only a top company manager, but also participated in planning and constructing the camp, now in its second year of operation.
Baatar constantly amazes us, whether with his encyclopedic knowledge of Mongolia, his world view, his breadth of international travel and education, or his outspoken advocacy of responsible, sustainable tourism.
When we predict his appointment as Mongolia's tourism minister, he scoffs at the very idea.
"Most government types are yuppies," he says, "more interested in buying a Toyota Land Cruiser than doing anything of benefit to the country."
The lodge is staffed almost entirely by locals. Foodstuffs and other supplies are purchased locally. And a coalition with local government and officials of Gurvansaikhan National Park helps implement conservation initiatives and wildlife monitoring and protection programs. It's a feel-good place that really does feel good -- especially after the next day's slithering and sliding the desert, visiting the world's northernmost sand dunes at Moltsog Els and the Flaming Cliffs of Bayanzag, where, in 1922, American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews made a huge discovery of dinosaur skeletons and eggs.
Under sunshine and blue skies, scarcely two days since our rainy arrival, the Gobi greens with scrubby grass and shrubs. Approaching the valley of Yolyn Am in the nearby Saikhan Uul mountain range, black-tailed gazelles graze, and twin-humped Bactrian camels remind us of those we rode the day before at a nomad camp near the village of Bulgan Sum.
Yolyn Am is a deep, steep-sided canyon, drawing visitors to its year-round ice formation; a veritable, climbable frozen oasis in the Gobi Desert.
As something of a send off on our final night, lodge employees tote out traditional instruments, filling ears and hearts with the hauntingly beautiful music of the nomads.
Later, strolling back to our ger beneath a full moon and a sky bursting with stars, we agree this is the perfect finale for a Mongolia visit far exceeding our expectations. But then, we realize, the adventure's not over yet Ð there's still the ride back to the airstrip and a flight to UB.
# # #
For your information: Pacific Delight World Tours' 17-day ÒMongolian Escapade" operates June through August, with four nights in Beijing, China. Air-land packages from $4,063; land-only from $3,418. See www.PacificDelightTours.com and www.NomadicExpeditions.com on the Internet.
Dave & Jan Houser are award-winning New Mexico-based travel journalists and members of Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA). See www.houser.squarespace.com